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Monday, November 23, 2009

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee condemned Iran on Friday for a violent crackdown on protesters after presidential elections this year that the Iranian opposition says were rigged.

The 192-nation assembly's Third Committee, which focuses on human rights, approved the nonbinding resolution 74-48, with 59 abstentions. The committee adopted similar resolutions condemning North Korea and Myanmar by much wider margins on Thursday.

It voiced "particular concern at the response of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the Presidential election of 12 June 2009 and the concurrent rise in human rights violations."

Among those violations were "harassment, intimidation and persecution, including by arbitrary arrest, detention or disappearance, of opposition members, journalists and other media representatives, bloggers, lawyers, clerics, human rights defenders, academics, (and) students."

The result, it said, has been "numerous deaths and injuries." It also condemned reports of "forced confessions and abuse of prisoners including ... rape and torture."

Iran has begun executing people in connection with the unrest that broke out after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election. Opposition leaders say the vote was rigged to ensure Ahmadinejad won.Saudi Arabia, which has accused Iran of supporting Shi'ite rebels in neighboring Yemen, broke ranks with the vast majority of Muslim nations and voted in favor of the resolution.

Riyadh, the world's top oil producer and a U.S. ally that sees itself as the guardian of Sunni Islam, has often been at odds with Shi'ite Iran.

U.S., BRITAIN, CANADA WELCOME RESOLUTION

U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood welcomed the censure, saying it "demonstrates that the international community is deeply concerned over the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran and the government's failure to uphold its obligations under its own constitution and international human rights law."

U.N. resolutions condemning Iran, North Korea and Myanmar have become an annual ritual in recent years. Friday's vote showed that the ranks of Iran's critics increased by four over last year when a similar resolution was adopted 70-51.

Both of Tehran's veto-wielding defenders on the U.N. Security Council, Russia and China, voted against the measure. There is no veto in the General Assembly.

A special assembly session next month is expected to formally adopt all recently approved committee resolutions.

Khazaee also had harsh words for Israel, one of the resolution's co-sponsors, accusing it of "the worst forms of human rights violations, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, mass murder, crimes against humanity and terrorism."

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon did not respond directly to Iran's accusations but joined Washington and his British counterpart David Miliband in welcoming the resolution. Cannon said it is "another clear signal of the international community's concern for the human rights of people in Iran."

Miliband said it will encourage "all those campaigning for an improvement in Iran's dismal human rights record."

...students at an Islamic university carried a banner reading “Reject the arrival of Miyabi, the destroyer of our nation's morality”, a...

Followers

Islam & Anti-Racism Campaigns

In Islam the Muslim faithful are taught that all non-Muslims are 'ignorant' and that only a Muslim is not. But now this extremely derogatory and offensive term is used by anti-racism campaigners to demean 'critics of Islam'.

[In Islam] to get over one's 'ignorance of Islam' - is to become a Muslim.

Should anti-racism campaigns be so closely aligned with 'Islam' and engaged in spreading a religious message?

Islamophobia is a fiction!!

Entirely a made-up term!

This is ultimately about silencing opposition to Shari'a - the law of the Muslim clerics - that Muslims genuinely believe the world should one day be ruled by.

i.e. only the "Islamophobes" would be against rule by the clerics. Who would listen to those described as "Islamophobes"?

Is it a nonsense term - where religious freedom reigns!

What does the Koran say about Jihad

In Islam's 3 Holy Books - 97% references to jihad relate to holy war - while only 3% relate to inner struggle

Free At Last!!

I have a dream.....

Everybody Draw Muhammad Day on Facebook

Shalm-Allat [Peace of the Goddess]

This Allat goddess amulet was uncovered in Adumattu, Arabia. Notice the moon and star symbol was in use before Islam. Allat was one of the three daughters of Allah of the Arabian Kaaba, Koran 53:19